Rendered
with an alla prima paint application and quick gestural brushstrokes,
"Tender Family Portrait - Mother and Child" reflects Margery Ryerson's
deep knowledge of academic training. Reyerson studied with Robert Henri
at The Art Students League. This painting is aesthetically pleasing and
communicates a sense of maternal tenderness from a female artist.
Margery Ryerson did a book on her former teacher. Henri's philosophical
and practical musings were collected by former pupil Margery Ryerson and
published as The Art Spirit (1923), a book that remained in print for
several decades. Signed. Lower Left

Margery Austen Ryerson (September 15, 1886 - 1989) was an American
artist, painter, etcher, lithographer and watercolorist.Her work is
included in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Biography

Ryerson earned her Bachelor's of Fine Arts in English from Vassar
College in Poughkeepsie, New York, after attending private schools in
Morristown. She went on to study under Charles Hawthorne at the Cape Cod
School of Art in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and with Robert Henri at
the Art Students League in New York.

During the years 1920 through 1940 Ryerson taught in New York
settlement houses. There she got the privilege to paint and draw the
children in their care. The subjects of these paintings were often the
children of the underclass and immigrants. Her artistic technique and
subjects gained universal recognition and appealed to many people. Miss
Ryerson is most known for her portraits, child genre paintings and
etches.Her art frequently shows children or people doing common everyday
activities, such as reading, knitting, playing with toys and sleeping. A
key element of Ryerson's art that sets her apart from similar artists,
is that she tends to portray the children in paintings alone, without
the presence of a maternal figure.Margery Ryerson chose to depict
children independently in pictures, partly from Robert Henri’s teachings
that kids could be the subjects of paintings just as much as adults
could. However, it is also because of the environment/ location that she
painted in at the beginning of her career. At first she was not
involved with families who could afford to pay for a portrait. So that’s
when she became exposed to the less privileged children. Then later she
sought out independent, self-reliant children.Ryerson has also painted
landscapes, city scapes, nudes, and still-life.
Achievements

The Associated American Artists NYC published a series of her
etchings and lithographs. The United Nations has also used Ryerson’s
work on greeting cards and stamps. Furthermore her art was included at
many exhibitions. These exhibitions include…

The Grand Central Art Galleries entitled Herni and Ryerson, the Art Spirit
The Paris Salon (1921)
The Art Institute of Chicago (1922)
The Newark Museum entitled The Eight and Their Influence (1984)
The Provincetown Artists’ Association and Museum (2008)

Her work is also held in the permanent collections of many
institutions including, the Smithsonian, Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris
and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

During her lifetime and artistic career she was represented by
Chapellier, Macbeth and Grand Central Art Galleries in New York. Ryerson
was also a member of many organizations, including, the National
Academy of Design Other organizations Ryerson was associated with
include the Allied Artists of America, American Watercolor Society,
Audubon Society of Artists, Brooklyn Society of Artists, National
Academy of Design, National Arts Club, Society of American Etchers,
Washington DC Watercolor Society, and Woodstock Art Association.
Writing/editing experience

Ryerson was also involved in the creation of two well known art
instruction books; Robert Henri’s The Art Spirit and Charles Hawthorne’s
Hawthorne on Painting. Ryerson’s class notes and commentary contributed
a lot to both books.[8] Ryerson actually proposed the idea of creating a
book to Robert Henri. They worked together to edit and complete the
book.The Art Spirit is a very influential and popular book in the art
community. The Art Spirit has been in publication ever since 1923.
Source: Wikipedia